Interesting. I searched and Nippon Steel is in 2nd division (3rd division next season) and it is from Kitakyushu, the city that in 2017 will receive the Womens's Sevens World Series. Is it a renew in rugby's interest there?

I guess interest is growing now the world cup is getting closer, but as for Kitakyushu, surprisingly quite a lot seems to go on there. The Top League All Starrs V Sunwolves will take place there next month, plus you have Sanix, the world youth championships, etc. Most importantly, "The Laird" also lives there!

#16 NEW EPISODE OUT NOW! With a bit of breathing space before Super Rugby kicks off, we turn our attention to other forms of rugby in Japan. Lachlan Grieve gives us an inside look at being the captain of the Japan Rugby League team. Then Nara Hide opens our eyes to the world of touch rugby, having represented Japan at numerous world cups. Listen on Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/user-260271034/1 ... lan-grieve or on I-tunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/jru ... 83225?mt=2 #JRugbyPodcast #JRugby #rugbyjp #rugby #rugbyleague #japan

Very interesting indeed. One major issue I see is the balance of the competition would be put further off. I'm not saying I don't want either the Sunwolves or Panasonic involved because I do but SR under its current structure is getting to unwieldly to just add a new team here or there.

Over on the GreenAndGoldRugby forum we had a brief discussion on how SR should evolve post 2019. Not only do I think Panasonic should be included, I actually think more Japanese, Argentine, Australian, New Zealand and South African teams should be included also. Perhaps even a couple PI squads as well.

One of the biggest issues with the current format is its confusing structure and in the cases of the Sunwolves and Jaguares its ridiculous travel requirements. It doesn't allow for fans to engage with the competition as regularly as they should. So, my solution is that SANZAAR should look toward moving SR to 5 conferences of at least 6 but preferably 8 teams.

This would require a fair bit of reorganisation but most of the teams already exist.

For New Zealand they would look to use their traditional structures employed in the Mitre 10 Cup. Maintain the big 5 provinces and look to add at least two more plus a PI squad. In SA they would use their traditional Currie Cup squads or at least their best 8. In Australia we could elevate both NSW and Qld Country squads alongside Fiji from the NRC to join the current 5 SR franchises, and Japan could use the top 8 clubs from the Top League. Argentina would be an issue with their staunch amateurism. Mainly on which format to use. Do they look to use provinces ro clubs. If clubs will they come from the URBA or the Nacionales de Clubs. Either the goal would be 8 teams as well.

From there the competition is played in two phases. The first phase would be a straight 12-14 week home and away season. Each team would play each of their conference opponents twice for 12-14 games over 12-14 weeks. This phase is specifically used as a rankings determining phase to decide the top 4. For the bottom 4 team from each conference. Their season ends here.

From there, the top 4 from each conference moves onto essentially the same system currently employed at the RWC. Using their ranking teams are placed into pool of 5 teams in which they will play each of their pool opponents once for 4 more games. From there the top 2 progress into the quarter finals, semi finals and final.

All up it should run for between 19-21 weeks. It could also be tweaked to remove the quarter finals and jist have the winner from each pool go through or if say Argentina cannot decide upon a format then it could use just 4 conferences but with each team required to have at least 2 Argentine players on their roster.

Overall, this model would provide more games, less travel and more opportunity for players and fans to engage with the competition as a whole. It also provides greater scope in the future for further expansion if say China get their planned XVs league going or if the MLR manages to become a stable and commercially viable enterprise.

Of course, this would all hinge greatly on whether WR can be swayed to move the June Test window back to July and whether broadcasters saw enough value in it to pony up enough for it to work. Additionally, I would also look to include Japan in The Rugby Championship.

Samfin wrote:Hi Guys really enjoying your podcasts. I was just wondering if there have been any overtures from SANZAAR to Japan to join the Rugby championship?

Thanks Samfin! I'm not an expert on all of this but I did put the question to the Kyodo News journalist, Rich Freeman in #5 https://soundcloud.com/user-260271034/j ... ch-freeman. I remember him saying that it's pretty unworkable with the current Top League, Super Rugby and international matches. Also, it would take place during the peak summer time in Japan and would be awful conditions to play in...

NEW EPISODE OUT NOW! Please listen on http://www.jrugbypodcast.com/ We talk to Kyodo news journalist, RIch Freeman, about the Sunwolves season so far, our best 15, and outstanding issues surrounding the squad. We also delve into Jamie Joseph's recent comments on taking over from Eddie, the rise of Chinese rugby, and whether Ayumu Goromaru will ever play for Japan again. Picture provided by fsg-art.jp/rugby/

NEW EPISODE OUT NOW: We talk to the Sunwolves fly half, Hayden Cripps, about the season so far, his rise from the second division to Super Rugby, and who in the squad is the best rapper! Please listen on our website www.jrugbypodcast.com on SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/…/23-hayden-cripps-sunwolves-and-lif… or on I-tunes: https://itunes.apple.com/…/pod…/jrugby-podcast/id1150983225… Photo provided by Hayden Cripps. #Sunwolves #SuperRugby #rugbyjp #JRugbyPodcast

NEW EPISODE: Taito and Lee cover all the latest from Japanese rugby, plus hear from Filo Tiatia about the Cheetahs match, Rich Freeman about the Asian Rugby Champs and The Laird about his new website. Please listen on our website: http://www.jrugbypodcast.com/ or on SoundCloud or iTunes

For those interested in the development of the Japanese team under Jamie Joseph, and our take on the best XV for the upcoming match against Romania and Ireland, listen to our latest podcast. We also hear outside Center, William Tupou's reaction on being called up to the Brave Blossoms. Listen here: http://www.jrugbypodcast.com/